Work visa crackdown WILL stem immigration, pledges Cameron

Promise: David Cameron indicated he remained committed to more than halving immigration

David Cameron last night promised to slash immigration by cracking down on rampant abuse of the visa system.

He reiterated that he would stick by his election promise that numbers would be cut to ‘tens of thousands’ a year.

The Prime Minister’s announcement came as official figures showed that thousands of non-EU workers are being allowed in to fill posts for which large numbers of jobless Britons have the same skills.

The research also found that workers granted visas for so called ‘highly-skilled’ posts end up employed in fast-food outlets, warehouses and doing jobs such as mixing concrete.

And officials cast huge doubt on claims by businesses that they will be unable to cope if the Government places a strict cap on economic migration.

Of the permits made available under the current interim cap, which came into force this summer, only 39 per cent have been assigned.

Just three of the ten businesses that traditionally bring in the largest number of non-EU workers have used more than 50 per cent of the permits available to them.

There has been concern in the past about immigrants coming in on student visas to study at bogus colleges and then overstaying.

Yesterday the Prime Minister said he was sticking to his promise to reduce net migration to Britain – the difference between the number of migrants arriving and those leaving – to ‘tens of thousands’.

Concern: The worry about immigration isn¿t about race, except for a small minority. It is about pressure on the housing stock. It¿s about ­competition for scarce jobs

Net migration currently stands at almost 200,000.

Ministers are expected to announce tomorrow that about 40,000 non-EU migrants will be given work permits next year, down from about 50,000 currently.

The so-called highly-skilled workers will have to be coming to a job paying at least £40,000 a year.

It is hoped that this will end the abuse which has seen 30 per cent of them doing unskilled work. Mr Cameron said it was ‘perfectly possible’ to meet the pledge.

This will be done by slashing the number of non-EU students and people allowed to settle in the UK, as well as the cap on foreign workers.

He added: ‘If you look at the big picture, actually immigration between Britain and the rest of the EU is pretty much in balance.

‘It’s between Britain and the rest of the world where it’s got out of balance. That is partly economic migration. It’s also about large numbers of people coming to settle in the UK. It’s also about a lot of people abusing the student regime.’

Checks: People in the queue for European passport holders at Luton airport

Tomorrow’s cap announcement will be backed by a review of student visas. Those seeking to do non-degree level courses are expected to face more stringent rules.

The Lib Dem members of the Coalition do not like the ‘tens of thousands’ promise, which is a Tory manifesto commitment.

Figures from the Department for Work and Pensions show that there are more than 30,000 British care assistants and home carers out of work – yet almost 1,700 were brought into the UK in the year to March 2010.

And although there were more than 4,500 software professionals claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance, more than 1,000 were recruited from abroad.